Lasting Love
by KinHiromi
Summary: Love doesn't last. That was Midorima's mentality. That is, was until he met Kuroko. AU! MidoKuro. One-shot.


Title: Lasting Love

Anime: Kuroko no Basuke/Kuroko's Basketball

Summary: Love doesn't last. That was Midorima's mentality. That is, _was_ until he met Kuroko.

Genre: Romance

Pairing: Midorima/Kuroko

Rating: T

Notes: AU! The ONLYIEST fiction, where Midorima thinks fate doesn't exist.

* * *

><p>Midorima had never been in love. He didn't want to be in love. If he had learned anything from watching his parents fight every night and even move into separate bedrooms, it was that love didn't last.<p>

_The person you're in love with will have changed in five years, and then they won't be the same person, will they?_

It was as simple as that. Love didn't last, so why trouble yourself with it when you know it's going to fail in the first place?

-xxx-

Summer began with the hottest day of the year thus far, and Midorima was groaning as he sat out on his porch in his running gear. It was way too hot to run without passing out, so he decided to sit in the shade and wait until it cooled a bit.

He heard a small yell and looked down the street, watching as a boy around his age chased after a little girl in a sun dress. He watched in amusement as the girl held two ice cream cones in front of her and the boy pretended to not be able to catch her.

Finally, the boy wrapped his arms around the girl and picked her up and span her around- and somehow she didn't drop the ice cream. She just giggled and squealed in excitement and gratefully handed over the boy's ice cream when she was put down.

Midorima could see the resemblance in their smiles and their noses and the shape of their eyes and came to the conclusion that they were siblings.

He had always wanted a sibling. Even if he got annoyed like all of his friends did with their siblings, at least there would be someone to make a noise while his parents were at work and someone to distract him when his parents were home and fighting. Not like the silence bothered him.

"Come on, let's get home," The boy said.

"No! I don't wanna!" The girl whined.

"Come on, Satsuki, it's so hot!" The boy whined back. Midorima smiled a bit. "_Even their whines are the same."_

"I wanna play!" The girl said with a stomp of her foot.

"We can play hide and seek at home!" The boy tried to reason. He looked up and made eye contact with Midorima.

The little girl let out a cute whine. "Fine. But you're it!" She said.

The boy blinked and then looked down at her and smiled. "Alright, let's just go."

He gave Midorima one more glance before taking the girl's hand and walking back where they had come from. Midorima couldn't decide if he should go after them to quench his boredom or not, but in the end, he went inside and watched TV until sunset.

-xxx-

The siblings came by everyday, sometimes with ice cream, sometimes without. Midorima watched them everyday as he sat on his porch and drank water or some kind of sports drink.

One day, the little girl (whose name was Satsuki Kuroko, Midorima had learned) run up to him and looked up at him with big pink eyes. "Help me!" She whispered.

"Satsuki!" They heard.

She squealed and ducked beneath Midorima's porch swing, hiding behind Midorima's legs. Her brother (whose name was Tetsuya Kuroko) run down the street and stopped, looking around. He looked at Midorima and walked up to his porch railing, but not up the two steps.

"Have you seen a little pink haired girl?" Kuroko asked.

Satsuki poked Midorima's leg and Midorima shrugged. "Sorry to say I haven't."

Kuroko sighed and put his hands on his hips. "Where could she have gone?" He mumbled.

Satsuki giggled and Kuroko glanced at the green haired teen's legs. Midorima felt a little bad for Satsuki, but didn't say anything as Kuroko leaned against the railing, his arms resting on it.

"Are you sure you haven't seen anything?" He asked with a smile.

Midorima nodded. "I haven't seen a thing."

Kuroko sighed and decided then to walk up the porch steps. He sat down on the porch swing next to Midorima and shook his head. "That girl is such a good hider! I can never find her!"

Satsuki giggled again and then pushed Midorima's legs apart so that she could jump out. "Here I am!"

"What!? When did you get there?!" Midorima exclaimed in mock surprise.

"Satsuki, how did you get so sneaky?!" Kuroko exclaimed as well.

Satsuki just giggled and plopped down in between the two boys. Midorima sighed. "Kids these days, sneaking under peoples' legs... I swear."

Kuroko smiled and poked Satsuki. "Introduce yourself."

Satsuki beamed up at Midoria. "Hi, greedy! I'm Satsuki!"

Kuroko softly laughed and Midorima forced a fake smile. "Nice to meet you, Satsuki. I'm Shintarou Midorima."

"Midorin!" Satsuki squaled happily.

Kuroko smiled. "And I'm Tetsuya Kuroko, her brother."

Midorima smiled at him. "Nice to meet you." He looked at Satsuki again. "Do you want lemonade?" Satsuki squealed in excitement and nodded enthusiastically. Midorima laughed and stood up. "Come on inside."

"A-Are you sure?" Kuroko asked as Satsuki jumped up.

Midorima shrugged. "Why not? I could use the company."

Kuroko smiled and followed Midorima and Satsuki inside. Midorima could hear him gasp quietly when they walked into his enormous house. All of the useless decorations made Kuroko stare up at the walls with his mouth hanging open. Satsuki didn't notice anything, but the kitchen, and she run into it.

"Lemonade!" She practically screamed.

Kuroko shook his head and closed his mouth, looking at Midorima as though he were afraid the green haired teen had caught him looking so awestruck (which he had, but he wouldn't tell him). Midorima walked into the kitchen and pulled the pitcher of fresh lemonade out of the fridge. He lifted Satsuki onto one of the bar chairs and poured her a glass, slipping a pink straw into it. She barely had time to thank him before she was sipping the drink excitedly.

Midorima smiled and poured himself and Kuroko glasses, leaving out the straws. Kuroko sipped at his glass and smiled. "Thanks. It was getting really hot outside."

Midorima nodded. "Yeah, this summer has been scorching."

"I don't know how you can sit outside all day," Kuroko said as he wiped his finger around the rim of the glass.

"How do you know that I sit outside all day?" Midorima asked with the hint of a smile.

Kuroko blushed lightly. "Well... We walk by everyday, I happened to notice that you were always there."

Midorima chuckled. "So, you've been watching me?"

"No!" Kuroko cried. "If anything, you've been watching us."

"Only because Satsuki is so cute," Midorima said. Satsuki grinned up at him. "Do you want to watch TV?"

She nodded and he helped her down from the high chair and carried her glass into the living room, where she climbed onto the large, leather couch. He gave her, her glass and turned the TV to some kids' channel before leaving her, far enough for her to not hear their conversation, but close enough for them to see if she did something.

"You know, you're kind of making yourself look like a pedo," Kuroko said with a smile.

"Hey, I just got rid of the kid," Midorima said. "If I were a pedo, I'd get rid of you."

Kuroko gave him a skeptical look. "How old are you?"

"17," Midorima answered before taking a sip of his lemonade.

"Alright... Just a couple years older than me," Kuroko said with a nod. "I guess I can get over that."

Midorima chuckled and shook his head. "So, why do you two always walk down this street?"

Kuroko smiled softly. "Satsuki likes to see the big houses. She thinks they're pretty."

Midorima tilted his head. "Where do you two live?"

"A few blocks away," Kuroko answered. "I mean, our house isn't that tiny, but it's nothing like this."

"I wish I had a tiny house," Midorima said. "I'm the only one here for most of the day."

Kuroko smiled. "Maybe I'll come, keep you company."

-xxx-

The next day, Midorima was on his porch again, sipping at some of the lemonade left over from the day before and watching as a mother pushed a baby stroller down the street while talking on her cell phone.

Midorima sighed when his glass was empty and tilted his head back, closing his eyes to listen to the birds. When he opened his eyes, Kuroko was standing over him.

He jerked a bit in surprise and sat up straight. "Hey," He said, before looking around. "Where's Satsuki?"

"This lady moved in next door a couple of days ago and runs a day care in her house," Kuroko said. "She promised to take care of Satsuki for free because her son likes her so much."

Midorima smiled. "That's nice of her."

"Well, she's already had like, five calls," Kuroko said. "Her business will be fine."

Kuroko sat down next to Midorima and the two just sat there and watched the street and the cars and the people until the stars were out, talking about mindless topics.

Midorima learned, that Kuroko had another sibling named Shigehiro who was starting middle school in the fall. He also learnt that Kuroko had been dancing since he was in third grade and that he hated school because he hated getting up early and because his school was full of bullies who made fun of him for being invincible.

Kuroko learned, that Midorima went to the private school two miles away (not the local high school a couple of blocks over, like himself) and that when he wasn't studying, he was usually out playing basketball. He learned, that Midorima's parents were rich lawyers that were always out, whether it was because of their jobs or because they wanted to spend time with their "friends." Kuroko couldn't help, but notice, that the way Midorima said friends made the word sound like a curse.

"How do you, like... Live?" Kuroko asked.

"I have a bank account that they're always transferring money into so that I can get food and stuff," Midorima said with a shrug.

"Wow, I'm lucky if I get $10 to go out with some friends." Kuroko said in awe.

Midorima glanced over at Kuroko. "We should go out."

Kuroko looked at him with wide eyes, and Midorima thought he saw red on the boy's cheeks, but shook his head. It was dark out and he only had the moon and the street light to help him see. "What?" Kuroko asked.

"We should go out," Midorima said again. "Like, to the mall or the movies or something. I'm getting bored just sitting here everyday. And it can be my treat. I have more money than I know what to do with anyway."

Kuroko swallowed. "Alright... We'll go out."

After exchanging phone numbers, Kuroko left and once he was home, the two began texting, planning out the details of their outing. Even when his parents came home and began yelling at each other for some dumb reason, Midorima was smiling.

-xxx-

Midorima looked at the address on his phone, making sure he was at the right house, and then knocked on the door.

"You better clean that up before mom gets home." He heard from behind the door before it opened. Kuroko smiled apologetically at him. "Sorry, I can't leave until my mom gets home. I have to watch my brother."

Midorima shrugged. "It's fine," He said.

Kuroko let him in, but had to run off when a crash sounded from the kitchen. Midorima looked around the house, feeling cramped in it. There were dolls and different toys scattered on the living room floor, where trash like soda cans and empty chip bags littered the coffee table. The couch was old and worn out, and the pictures hanging on the walls were either bad kids' drawings or pictures taken with some disposable camera.

It was nothing like Midorima's large, open house where there was absolutely no trash anywhere, where the furniture and the decorations were only of the highest quality.

Midorima looked at the wall with the only professionally taken photos. There were three rows of pictures, the bottom row being Satsuki, the pictures starting from when she was a baby to now, when she was around six. The middle row was Shigehiro, also ranging from when he was a baby to his most recent school picture, and the top row was Kuroko, who had the most pictures, most of them school pictures. Midorima looked at the picture of Kuroko smiling. And then Midorima thought about the fact that there were no pictures of him anywhere in his house.

The front door opened and Midorima could hear the sounds of shoes being thrown off and hitting the wall. "Boys! Come help with groceries!" A woman with light blue hair, just like Kuroko's emerged from the entry way, and Midorima could see where Kuroko got his beautiful looks from. She looked over at Midorima, her arms full of grocery bags, and she smiled. "You must be Tetsuya's friend!" She then looked embarrassed. "I'm so sorry for the mess, but please make yourself comfortable." She began walking to the kitchen and Midorima could hear her yell, "Boys! Go help! Didn't you hear me?!"

Kuroko and Shigehiro left the kitchen grumbling and left the house, returning with the groceries. "Alright, well I'm leaving," Kuroko said when he was done helping.

Midorima walked back to the front door to wait for Kuroko, whose mother had returned. "Alright dear, have fun," She said as she kissed his cheek.

Kuroko smiled. "I will. Love you," He said before leaving.

Midorima couldn't help, but feel a small pang of envy in his chest.

-xxx-

At the end of the day, Midorima stopped his car in front of Kuroko's house. "Thanks a lot for today," Kuroko said with a smile as he twirled the beaded bracelet Midorima had bought for him around his wrist.

Midorima smiled back. "No problem. I had fun."

Kuroko smiled and leaned over to kiss Midorima's cheek before getting out of the car. "See you tomorrow." He said before closing the car door and running up to his house.

Midorima touched his cheek and had to tell himself all night that it was just a friendly gesture.

-xxx-

Midorima and Kuroko began hanging out everyday. Sometimes they went out, sometimes they took walks, sometimes they hung out at Midorima's house (but not at Kuroko's, because Kuroko felt as if it was too small and loud).

Midorima noticed, that Kuroko wore the bracelet he got for him everyday, even if it didn't match his outfit at all. It made Midorima happy.

"I do not want to say this, but sometimes my parents are so annoying," Kuroko said one day as he walked into Midorima's house (they had gotten passed knocking).

Midorima looked up from his spot on the couch and muted the TV as Kuroko walked over. "Why?" He asked.

"They don't leave me alone," Kuroko whined as he sat down on the couch. "They're always trying to have a conversation with me. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love them, but when I'm sitting in my room reading a book, I'd really rather not talk. And also, you know my type, I am not that talkative."

Midorima cracked a smile. "At least your parents pay attention to you. I think my parents have forgotten, that I exist. I don't even think that they put the money into my account themselves, I think it's automatic."

"But you can do whatever you want," Kuroko said. "You have so much freedom!"

"Yeah, a little too much," Midorima said. "I don't know what to do with it."

"Give it to me?" Kuroko asked with a winning smile.

Midorima chuckled. "Alright, you can have it."

Kuroko smiled. "I take it with pride."

The two quiet downed after that, and Midorima was the one that broke the silence. "So, your parents... They're like, on good terms?"

Kuroko nodded. "Yeah, as far as I know."

"So, they... Never fight?" Midorima asked.

Kuroko shrugged. "They do, but it is usually about bills and stuff. I don't know if it's really them getting mad at each other, or them just being stressed because they can't pay the rent."

He said it quietly and wasn't looking at the green haired teen. "How long have they been married?" Midorima asked.

"Since they finished college," Kuroko said. "They met in high school."

"And... They still love each other?" Midorima asked in disbelief.

Kuroko smiled. "Yes. My dad always tells my mom how much he loves her. It makes both, mom and me happy." Midorima looked away from Kuroko and blinked, not wanting to believe it. Kuroko looked at him. "Why are you asking?"

Midorima didn't want to talk about his family problems, but Kuroko told him so much that it would only be fair to tell his story. "My parents... They hate each other."

Kuroko smiled. "I doubt that they-"

"They don't even sleep in the same room anymore," Midorima said quietly, and Kuroko closed his mouth. "From what I've heard, they were madly in love when they were in college and grad school. But a few years after they were married, they just... I don't know. They've been fighting for as long as I can remember. And it's obvious that they're cheating on each other. I think that the only reason they haven't divorced is because they have so much money together."

Kuroko didn't say anything. He just stared at Midorima as he shared his thoughts.

"So... When I hear about people like your parents..." Midorima sighed. "I've always thought that love didn't- couldn't- last. I mean, my parents' love obviously didn't. They were totally in love with each other, but then something happened. They changed, or something. And now they don't love each other."

Midorima looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "You can't base your entire view of love on one couple," Kuroko said quietly. "Love can last. Your parents just... They probably did love each other when they were younger. But I bet that they weren't as in love as they would have been had they been with the one they were destined to be with."

Midorima scoffed and shook his head. "Destined?"

Kuroko frowned. "Yes, destined. Everyone is destined for one person. The problem is that a lot of people can't find that person... Or they think that they're destined for someone, but they're not. Sometimes people can find the one they're destined for immediately, like my parents. They've only ever been with each other. Some people need some time to find the right one."

Midorima shook his head again. "I just don't understand that..."

The next few moments were a blur for Midorima. He remembered a hand on his cheek, turning his head, and then something warm and soft on his lips, and then he realized, that it was Kuroko's lips. Kuroko pulled away and looked right into Midorima's eyes, despite his dark blush. "It's not something you understand," The younger boy said. "It's something you feel."

Midorima stared at Kuroko and he was not sure what he felt. He was a logical person- fate didn't exist, only your choice of actions did. There wasn't some deity in the sky, there was only science and evolution. There wasn't love, there were flings.

And yet, as he continued to stare at Kuroko, he couldn't think of anything. His mind was blank and his heart was beating quickly and he couldn't hear anything, but his own blood rushing through his head and he even felt a bit dizzy, because suddenly he could think of something- Kuroko. Only Kuroko.

And then he was leaning in and pressing his lips to Kuroko's and pushing the bluenette back a bit onto the leather couch until Kuroko was lying down, willingly wrapping his arms around Midorima's neck and kissing back.

They continued, and Midorima still couldn't feel anything, nothing, but Kuroko, anyway. He couldn't feel anything, but the boy's smooth skin under his fingertips, his hot breath on his cheek as he gasped in pleasure, the sweat gathering around his neck, where Midorima's face was buried. He couldn't feel anything, but Kuroko as the boy cried out in intense pleasure, nothing, but his body trembling under Midorima's. He couldn't feel anything, but his own pleasure as his vision went white.

And then Midorima could feel everything, as if he was hyper-sensitive. He could feel the ends of Kuroko's hair tickling his cheek, he could feel Kuroko's heartbeat through his chest, he could feel the boy's fingertips as he grasped onto Midorima's back.

Midorima lifted himself off of the boy, afraid of crushing him, but Kuroko pulled him back down. "Just a little longer," Kuroko whispered.

Midorima nodded and they just lay like that, sweaty, holding onto each other for dear life.

-xxx-

Summer ended and Midorima found himself picking Kuroko up from school everyday. He helped the younger boy with his homework (and often found himself doing it for him, since he was already aced all of these classes) and then they spent their remaining time talking about the annoying kids at school or the latest gossip they heard.

Winter rolled around and Midorima convinced Kuroko to ask his parents if he could spend Christmas vacation with him. It took some begging, but Kuroko was finally allowed to go to Midorima's family's vacation house near the shore where they snuggled by the fire and spent Christmas making love.

Spring came and Midorima surprised Kuroko every weekend with either an elaborate date or a romantic dinner.

And finally, it was summer again, and they had everyday to just lounge around and kiss or talk or have sex. Time had never passed so quickly for Midorima. His days used to be so long and boring, but now they were interesting and just not long enough.

And then when fall came once again, Midorima was left with a teary eyed Kuroko, seeing him off at the train station. "It'll be okay," Midorima said. "We'll talk every night."

"But I won't be able to see you," Kuroko whimpered.

"I got you that webcam for a reason," Midorima said with a smile, but he knew it isn't convincing. Seeing someone through a camera was nothing like being able to feel them. "And I'll visit all of the time. I'm just a couple of hours away, you know."

Kuroko pouted, but nodded and was able to give Midorima one last kiss before he had to board the train and roll away for University.

-xxx-

When Midorima visited for the first time, which, unfortunately, was almost two months later because of his heavy class load, he was worried. Surely Kuroko had moved on. He was only 17, after all.

But when Midorima got off of the train, the first thing he was met with was a body tackling his into a hug and someone crying onto his shoulder.

"You said you'd visit all of the time!" Kuroko cried.

Midorima smiled and wrapped his arms around Kuroko's small body. "I know, I'm sorry."

And he felt that maybe this love actually could last.


End file.
